Amid rising Indo-Pak tensions, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif warns that China could weaponise the Brahmaputra’s waters after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty.
00:00What will happen if China blocks the flow of water into India's Brahmaputra?
00:03It is not going to impact India substantially.
00:05Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif warned that China could weaponise the Brahmaputra's waters
00:09in response to India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
00:12First of all, whether China at all has that intention,
00:14because this has never been the Chinese position.
00:16China has to have this economic interest of letting the water flow to India.
00:20If they block the water, it is going to be counterproductive for China itself,
00:25for Chinese economic interests in that particular region.
00:27Because if you create diversion channels,
00:30naturally, in fact, there will be sediment accumulation upstream
00:33that will block the entire flow of water into their system,
00:37which is going to create further impediment for hydropower generation.
00:41Countering Pakistan's new scare narrative,
00:43Assam CM Himontho Biswasarma shared data points.
00:46Supporting these claims, Dr. Nilanjan explained
00:48that the water entering India from China's Yarlang Zangbo River
00:51increases by 6.5 times by the time it exits India as the Brahmaputra.
00:55The Brahmaputra gets fatter and fatter.
00:57As it moves, in fact, fatter downstream.
01:01Around 80 billion cubic meter when it enters India at the Great Bend,
01:05when it leaves China.
01:07Around 510, 526 billion cubic meter at Guwahati.
01:12Around 606 billion cubic meter in Bangladesh.
01:15So the Brahmaputra is largely formed by the tributaries.
01:19It is not going to impact India substantially.
01:21Another question some may consider is whether India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty
01:25can be used as a precedent by China to potentially stop water flow.
01:28These are two completely different issues altogether.
01:33And one should not draw any parallel.
01:35Now, they might be all with the friends of Pakistan.
01:38A key difference between the Indus water conflict with Pakistan and the Brahmaputra issue with China is that tensions with Pakistan are deeply linked to terrorism.
01:41Whereas with China, they are largely limited to border disputes.
01:44A key difference between the Indus water conflict with Pakistan and the Brahmaputra issue with China is that tensions with Pakistan are deeply linked to terrorism.
01:48Whereas with China, they are largely limited to border disputes.
